Lando Norris likes Max Verstappen as a person, and the McLaren driver respects his title rival’s ability on track. So Norris was trying not to criticise the Dutchman too much after the Mexico City Grand Prix. But in the end he felt he had no choice.
“It was not fair, clean racing,” Norris said of Verstappen’s driving, which earned the three-time world champion two 10-second penalties for two separate incidents within four corners of each other early in the race. “And therefore I think he got what he had coming to him.
“I felt like I just had to avoid collisions, and that’s not what you feel like you want to do in a race. He’s in a very powerful position in the championship. He’s a long way ahead. He has nothing to lose.
“It’s not my job to control him. He knows how to drive. And I’m sure he knows that today was probably a bit over the limit.
Twenty seconds is a lot,” he said. “But I am not going to cry about it and I am also not going to share my opinion. The biggest problem I had is that it was a bad day in terms of race pace.”
Verstappen still managed to finish sixth despite the penalties and an uncompetitive car. Norris took second, behind a dominant Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, which might not have been so dominant had Norris not been delayed behind Verstappen for much of the first stint.
That means Verstappen’s championship lead is down to 47 points with 120 still available over the remaining four races. Norris still needs to close in by nearly 12 points a race to become the world champion.
